Hours before the launch of former Pakistani minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri’s book in Mumbai today, organizer Sudheendra Kulkarni was attacked with black paint by activists of the Shiv Sena.

“They told me if you don’t listen to us, this is what we can do,” said Mr Kulkarni.

The former BJP advisor’s face was completely blackened and his clothes, in the colours of the Indian flag, were stained too.

The Sena, which co-governs Maharashtra with the BJP, says it will not allow Mr Kasuri’s book launch as any engagement with Pakistan is unacceptable as long as it supports terror.

“This is not ink but the blood of our jawans. Intellectuals should consider people’s sentiment or such incidents will happen. We have no grudge against Mr Kasuri but we are against Pakistan,” said Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut. Last week, the party’s objections led to organisers cancelling legendary Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali’s show in Mumbai despite the BJP and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assuring that the event would not be stopped.

Addressing a press conference with Mr Kasuri around two hours later, Mr Kulkarni, a former BJP advisor, had not washed up. He asserted that the show would go on.

Mr Kasuri’s book “Neither a Hawk, Nor a Dove: An Insider Account of Pakistan’s Foreign Policy” launched in Delhi last week and is to be released today in Mumbai in an event organized by Mr Kulkarni’s Observer Research Foundation, a think tank.

“I have come all the way not to sit in the hotel. I believe I am doing a right thing. I have come with a message of peace,” Mr Kasuri said, adding that he would not let down his hosts.